Piston ring



March 3, 1931. A;scHwmQzl-:INZERY Y 1,794,486

v PISTON RING Filed April 23. 1928 lex' Schu/arzenzez" Patented Mar.v 3, 1931 UNITED y*sr ALEX SCHWARZENZER, or' ERIN TOWNSHIP; MAcoivIB COUNTY',l MICHIGAN, AssIGNoR,

BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO ALEXANDER HILLER, `:BOTH OFDET`ROIT, MICHIGAN H. HILLER AND MAMIE PISTON RING kApplication filed April 23,

This invention relates'to a pistonpaclzing ring and more particularly to a ring which 1s especially adapted for use upon the pistons.

of internal combustion engines. An object of the invention is to provide a ring which will prevent leakage past the ring and which ring will have an expansive force sufficient to hold it in firm even contact with the cylinder wall but will not exert so great an expansiveforce as to cause undue friction and retard the operation of the piston. A further object is to provide a ring which has not only a radial expansion but also a lateral expansion operativeto hold the ring in'contact with a later-r al wall ofthe groove in which it is mounted and prevent leakage past the ring into the groove behind the ring and thence out atthe lower side of the ring. It is also an object.

to provide a two-part ring in which one of the parts provides radial expansion and the other part lateral expansion, said partscooperating within the groove in a piston to yieldingly hold the ring in contact with the cylinder wall and withr a lateral wall of the groove in which the ring is mounted Simw plification of construction and cheapness of manufacture are also objects of the invention and further objects will more fully appear from the description and operation as hereinafter set forth.

With the above and other ends in view the invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth and more particularly pointed out in the appended claim, reference being had t-o the drawing in which Figure l is a transverse vertical section through a portion'of a cylinder and a piston therein.v with rings illustrative of the present invention in place on the piston and in section;

Fig. 2 is` a sectional detail of an assembled ring;

Fig. 3 is a similar section of an outer ring member;

Fig. 4 is a section of an inner ring member;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail showing the ring in section and withinv a groove in a piston within a cylinder7 and Fig. 6 is an edge elevation of the upper side edge of a portion of the inner ring member.

192s. serial No. 272,213.

The present ring comprises an outer ring member l and an inner ring member 2 within the outer member, both members being split or divided transversely with a stepped split 3 in the usual manner ofrmaking split eX- pansible rings.' The outer member has an outer smooth surface of a width substantially equal to but slightly less than the width of the groove 4 in the pistonwall 5 Within which the ring is .to operate, and said outer member is also formedwith a flange 6 projecting inwardly with its. upper side flush'with the upper edge of the member,`to engage over the upper edge of theinner ring member 2, said flange projectingv inwardly to the full thickness oflthe inner member.

rI vhe inner ring member 2 is slitted or divided longitudinally` at intervals by sawing through the member centrally of its width as'aty and then dividing the partially separated portions above the slits and inter1nediate the ends of each slit, thus forming a pair of spring fingers 8 at kthe upper side of Y each slit. l

The combined width of the blank from which the inner ringmember is formed and the thickness ofthefiange 6 on the outer ring member beneath which the inner ring member is adaptedy to seat7 'is slightly greater than the width ofthe groove in which the members are to be placed. To reduce this over-all width so thatthe combined members will fit snugly within the groove]` the free ends of the spring ngers are pressed laterally of the ring members until Ythese ends contact the lower sides of the slits 7 and are held in this position while the upper edge of the ring member is turned off, reducing the width of the ring. member sufficiently to permit the members to be freely inserted in the groove of the pistonk when the inner member is in place within the outer member. When these spring fingers are released they willspring laterally to their normal position or for a distance equal to the width of the slit or cut `which separates them from thelower portion of the member and thereforein order to enter the assembled ngers, and when the assembled ring is in the groove these spring .fingers provide a lateral spring tension for the ring within the groove, the free ends of the linger yieldingly engaging the lower side of the flange 6 and thus side edge of thering and entering tlie groove?" baclif theY tinsx there it ,would 5nd-, ,its outlgjat' the bottoiiiedge oif the ring and' thus cause 'anleal; pasttlie riiigwliiclifwould result in lossof eoinpressioi'i andwdilut'4 n' the oil Contained iii theegine craiili case;y lIn this 'coiistructionthe 'outer ring member provides an outer smooth surface lfor ,the'ring' to engagejtlie cylii ler wall and as this outer ineirifilb a ringftyexerts 'an expans'ible y force in st'said wall, sucli enpaiisii'ieV torce ahd'the Stieiisthpof the ring Hiembefbens 111-' creased' 1by the inward -tliei split' ingfand therefore lenl'erts an expansive force againstL the. oute ring member,

ing in holding the o`l ye ring member in forming even GCHW@ with'the eylindeilwall. Beiv cause' of this:tei'i'dieiicyz of the inner inember to expand lits"spring fingers areffliel'd therebyin contact vvitlifthe.,inner surface of the' outer ring `member and are therefore protected againstbecoiiiing'brolen :iii operationV and Aalso against vibration or lexure di'iriiio` the operation 'of the piston Ain thec'ylin'der.' The spring lingers` of the inner member not i iilyfs'erve to hold the outerineiiiberl'iirniily against the upper side wallof the groove at A alltiinesbutalso aiford a lateral springtension' prev'eiiting i'novementyof` theinner ring n l 1 construction and .ly :extending fianet@ The innerA riiig"iiieinbei is also cylinder Wall and this is possibly due to the combining of the members which are both split rings. The ring will therefore contact the cylinder Wall with an even pressure at all points and this pressure need not be excessive vas the outerl meinbe'rfprovic yes a smootli'con Vtact surtace.'` Both members of the ring are`r of even thickness hroughout their entire circumference, such construction being permisy i siblefdue 'to the combiniiighot' the two'mein?v their split ends arranged diametrically opposite each other7 and therefore 'i'nanufacture or" the ring is facilitated and each may be formed perfectly true and round to accuratelyfit tliecbore of the cylinder.

Obviously thelateral expansion or yield of the inner meniberin the direction ofits width;

may be secured byeinployiiig a construction i' votliiertliaii forming saidni'embei with'sprii'igfy fingers, the adjacent ends ot which are'sep-V arated' and which llingers are connected 'withU they vring member at one end onlyOther Tpended claim are contemplated and I' do not therefore limit myself t'o theparticulaij K arrangement shown.

What Iclaim is :-l "l f A piston ring including an outer expansible cast metal ring member and aninnery eX- rpansible cast'metal ring member, said outer member being formed with ai'i'inwardly eX# `tendiiigportioii and said inner member being" Vchanges,falling within thesc'ope of the a'provided with fingers along one edgevyi'eldable'v laterally of the ringfto yieldinglyl 'holdl said inner member against va side of a groove meinbermagainst the opposite side of said' groove. y

In testimony whereof I ax my signature.

ALEX SCHWARZENZER; s

Wiese@ groove and ioifiiig fiamme-f straight ,edge yieldinglyy and firinly against the lower sidewall of the groove,7 further `vin-"MV su ing against leakage past the ring.Y

Then tlie'inner and outer'ring members are assombledftlieir"stepped splits or cuts 3v are `positioned diametrically oppositeeach other and'` therefore the openings Yformed thereby are closedand the path for the passage nofv fluid past the ring provided by 'suoliv openings is blocked;

Preferably one of the slits orcuts 7 will extendv across the split?) 'of the `inneiringv Yineiiiliie'r `as shown in Fig.' 2 and the other slits will isp'acedfa'part'Y around tlie enti're'ciiigiiiiiterence of the member7 any suitable number o i' these slits being' provided order to foi-iii theY desired 'number of spring'fingeis. In the. manufacture of this ring, the inembersarejso Iproizi'irtionedpas to give the ring ,inst the desired expansive' torcefagainst then.

'10e in ivhich'the ring is mounted and the outer 

